A New York motorist imprisoned after being falsely accused of driving under the influence (DUI) settled his case against the Pennsylvania State Police. Wilfredo Ramos Jr spent 158 days behind bars despite repeatedly testing free from drugs or alcohol.
The trouble began on the evening of June 16, 2014, while Ramos was passing through Upper Macungie Township on State Route 100. Pennsylvania trooper Justin M. Summa spotted the New York plates on the 2010 Toyota Corolla Ramos was driving and decided to pull him over. Not knowing why he was being stopped, Ramos complied, handing the officer his valid New York license and registration.
“I smell alcohol,” Trooper Summa said.
Ramos explained that he had not been drinking.
“Oh you are from New York,” the trooper responded. “You must have guns or drugs? We know you have drugs, just tell us where they are.”
He said he had none, so the trooper ordered Ramos out of the vehicle so that he could administer a preliminary breath test, the result of which was .00. Ramos then performed the standard field sobriety tests which prosecutors admitted he “did not have difficulty performing.” At this point, Ramos was handcuffed, placed under arrest and taken to the state police barracks. The troopers then searched the Corolla and found nothing illegal.
Ramos agreed to a blood draw so that the officers could test his blood for the presence of drugs. A police officer trained as a “drug recognition expert” said Ramos might be on depressants, so Lehigh County Magisterial District Judge David M. Howells Jr set bail at $10,000, an amount Ramos could not afford. Ramos waited in his cell for eleven days, and the drug test came back negative. Not satisfied, Trooper Summa insisted the samples be retested, and they came back negative once more.
While this was happening, Ramos was locked up in the Lehigh County Prison because, according to the lawsuit, Trooper Summa falsely told the court that the test results were “pending.”
It was not until November 12, 2014, that Judge James T. Anthony found Ramos not guilty of DUI and ordered his release. Meanwhile, Ramos lost his job and his apartment, leaving him with nothing. Three years later, the state agreed to pay Ramos $150,000 in compensation for the deprivation of his rights. In an email to TheNewspaper, Ramos attorney Josh Karoly confirmed the amount of the settlement but said he could not comment further on the case.
OMG, another outrage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is about 18miles from me and I am in that area to visit my ex bro-in law.
cops around here looove duis. It’s the quickest, safest way for them to earn a shekel for their gang.
My brother was arrested after a fender bender on his way to work and piggy said he failed field sobriety test. They took blood and charged him with having abused his psych meds(I keep telling him to find another way to “medicate” but his brain is mush after decades of it). After 1.5 yrs of incident and 5k in legal fees, his “attorney” said they could get the charges dropped. because he was actually UNDER their lawful limit for dui. Brother was so happy and grateful(why I have no idea because he didn’t even do anything as per their laws?!). All he had to do was make a statement on the stand exonerating the pig and state that he agreed with him for believing he was under the influence of substances. Dui was dropped and only had to plead guilty for reckless driving…that was over 2k in fines and had to go and pay to go to dui classes. Grand total of almost 8k for no crime and almost 2yrs of processing. Did I leave out he got a year of probation to boot?
It’s all about the money
Nothing else
They really don’t care if you broke a law or not
Because it isn’t really about that
It’s about mammon extraction at all costs
Innocent or guilty doesn’t matter
It’s how much they can fleece from you as you defend your innocence
In this current police state , everyone is guilty until proven innocent and with that comes the payola to them regardless if you were innocent of what they claim you did
The more people that wake up to this
The sooner the fight , and when people do finally wake up to this
That’s when traffic stops will either become very bloody , or stop . Because they won’t want to risk their lives for a few grand that goes in some judges pockets
What a horror story Martist. Your ex bro in law should be very grateful for your friendship and knowledge, hopefully.
“He said he had none, so the trooper ordered Ramos out of the vehicle so that he could administer a preliminary breath test, the result of which was .00.”
It should have ended right there (not that the stop itself was legal to begin with). That gestapo thug should have been arrested for wrongful detention, wrongful arrest, and falsifying a report. I would have sued those bastards for a hell of lot more than a $150K. Why aren’t more people outraged by this blatant criminal crap? Oh, that’s right, the idiot box programs them to believe that it is all “for their safety”.
This known as, “You can beat the rap but not the ride”.